Wedding Day
by Alanna the Lioness
Summary: Alanna and George's wedding!!! Alanna recollects on her past love lives and affairs...read it if you are an A/J fan, too! R/R, or I will come after you all with my tennis racquet, which I'm not afraid to use!!! BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!


Wedding Day

Wedding Day 

~*A collection of Alanna's thoughts the day of her marriage.*~

By Alanna the Lioness (FORMERLY known as ~*Our Lady of the Flame*~)

DISCLAIMER: Do I look like Tammy Pierce to you? You can't see me, so you'll just have to trust me, won'tcha? :P Hehe. Anyway, I'm 14, and I only have $45…don't sue! All characters go to Tammy!!!

Alanna of Trebond and Olau smiled, letting her mind wander as the priest began to wed her and George. Of course, she heard little snippets of the speech, but that was all she felt like listening to at the moment. Slowly, she began to drift off into memories….memories of the past, and her love life…..

Jonathan lifted the gold charm off her throat, examining it. "What's this?" he asked. His voice was soft and warm.

_ _

_"It's a charm to-to keep me from having children," Alanna stammered. "Mistress Cooper gave it to me a-a long time ago."_

_ _

_Jon chuckled. "Have you ever tried it out?" he asked, putting his free arm around her._

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_"What's THAT supposed to mean?" she asked gruffly._

_ _

_"This." Swiftly, he kissed her again and again. Alanna felt giddy and was grateful that his tight hold kept her from falling….._

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_Jonathan stopped kissing her, only to start unlacing her bodice._

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_Alanna shoved away, terrified. "No!" she gasped, grabbing her laces. "I was crazy to think….Jonathan, please!" _

_ _

_The prince realized she was trembling, her hands were shaking too badly for her to lace herself. He shook his head and did the work for her._

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_"You're fighting what has to be," he said, "and you know it as well as I do."_

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_"I-I know no such thing," she stammered. "I promised myself once that I'd NEVER love a man! Maybe I almost broke that promise just now because of moonlight and silliness-"_

_ _

_"Stop it," he told her sternly. He made her look up at him. "We belong together. Is that silliness?……"_

_ _

Alanna broke the vision to sneak a look at Jon, who was standing off to the side, Thayet in hand. Thayet smiled reassuringly, and Jon winked encouragement. Alanna sighed. He'd once been hers…..but all that had changed one day in the Great Southern Desert….

"You didn't mention you were planning to leave today." In an effort to keep her temper, Alanna sounded clipped and terse.

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_"I thought you knew." Jonathan was rolling up a map, not looking at her….._

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_"I did not say I was returning with you, and you didn't ask me before you ordered people to do my packing."_

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_"I assumed we'd begin preparations for the wedding. I didn't think you would want to wait."_

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_"I haven't told you 'yes,'" Alanna reminded him, her voice tense._

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_He looked at her, startled. "But-I know how you feel about me."_

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_"Being married to you is a great responsibility. I need more time to think about it."_

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_"More time!" _He's actually amused! _Alanna thought, her anger mounting……"Be serious. After all these years, I think your answer is plain."_

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_She had clenched her jaw so tightly it hurt to open it. "Not to me."……_

_ _

The things Jon had said in return had scarred her as badly as any sword or dagger wound.

….."Think carefully before you annoy me further, Alanna of Trebond! There are women would would do anything to marry me-"

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_"Then why didn't you ask one of them? You know what your problem is, Jonathan? You've been spoiled by all those fine Court ladies. It never entered your mind that I might say no!"_

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_"And who would you take instead of me, O Woman Who Rides Like a Man? I suppose George Cooper's more to your taste-"_

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_"George!"_

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_"Do you think I'm blind? I've seen the way he looks at you!"_

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_"What about all those women in the palace and the way they look at YOU? And I KNOW you've had affairs with some of them! They've made you into a conceited-"_

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_"At least they're WOMEN, Lady Alanna! And they know how to ACT like women!"_

_ _

Does he still think that of me? Alanna felt a pang of sadness in her middle, but it was a small one. Then Liam had come out of the gloom….

Alanna had fallen straight out of her saddle into the mud, cursing. At the sound of approaching hoofbeats, she scrambled to her feet, flustered. If it was Liam…..and unfortunately for her, it was.

"Nice morning for a ride," he greeted her. "A little wet, though."

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_"I don't normally DO this, you know!"_

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_"Not for a moment did I think it."_

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_"Why are you here, anyway? It's a long way for a morning ride!"_

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_"I saw you go out. When you didn't come back, I thought I'd check. Oh, don't think I figured you'd run out on Windfield's bill. You left your man and your bags, so I KNEW it wouldn't be that."_

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_"How DARE-"_

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_"Don't like to be teased, is that it? Hitch the mare to a lead and ride double with me. I'll keep you a-horse."_

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_"I'll be fine!"_

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_"Didn't your mamma teach you to speak polite to strangers on the road? I could be a sorcerer and turn you into a mouse."_

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_"You're the Shang Dragon. You won't turn me into ANYTHING."_

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_"Don't worry about it. I pull on my breeches one leg at a time, same as you." Unstrapping a blanket from his saddle, he wrapped it around her. "There now. You're tired and wet and grumpy-in no condition to ride. I fell asleep once, Alanna the Lioness. A tree knocked me from the saddle into a ditch, right in front of the men I was supposed to command. Bless their hearts, they didn't tease me about it-not much." He threw her into the saddle as easily as if she were a child, mounting behind her and settling her into the circle of his arms._

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_"Go to sleep, Kitten. You're all right now."_

_ _

Liam….she sighed slightly, and a single tear trickled down her cheek, remembering the Dragon's fate. George saw it and brushed it away softly, his hazel eyes gentle. Alanna smiled at him gratefully. He'd known Liam, too….

_"Are we finished, then?"_

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_"I don't know, kitten."_

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_"I AM sorry. I know it doesn't do any good, but I am. If you'd awakened, you'd've stopped me." She was apologizing for commanding Faithful to bewitch the magic-fearful Liam while she set out to claim the legendary Dominion_ _Jewel._

_ _

_"Seems like there's nothing we can do, right? I can't help the way I feel. Not about the Gift. And you can't help but use it, nor should you. A tool is meant to be used." After a moment, he swallowed and added, "I'm sorry, too." His voice was cracking. "You probably saw I had my things moved to another room."_

_ _

_"Can we be friends, still?"_

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_"I promise it."_

_ _

He'd been everything…..flirty, adventurous, valiant, and quite an impressive warrior….but it was not meant to be. _She closed her eyes, remembering her last look at Liam Ironarm as he lay on the alter, a bundle of arrows lying next to his motionless form…._

_ _

And Faithful. _Alanna swallowed as she remembered the insane look of fury in Josianne's eyes as she threw the cat down and stamped on him, and then the rush of adrenaline that coursed through Alanna's body. She'd never felt so angry before, and she WANTED her sword to pierce Josianne's heart. She WANTED to kill. That had frightened her then, as it still did now….was she a cold-blooded killer?_

_ _

Stop being silly. _Alanna scolded herself. _This is your wedding day….shouldn't you be happy?

_But there was one last thing Alanna wanted to dwell on before she was officially the Lady of Pirate's Swoop….and that was her beloved fiancé himself._

_ _

George loved me in the beginning. _A smile brightened Alanna's face as she recalled their first kiss. She'd had her hands full, and he'd taken advantage of her for it…._

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He's always been kind to me. _She looked sideways at him and saw him wink, making her blush. _He was never afraid of the Gift. He was never spoiled by Court ladies, and he never cared how I looked: in dresses or no….he loved me just the same. And didn't Thom say he approved? Of course, I would've done it anyway…._A sudden pang of loneliness struck her at the thought of her late twin brother. _

And Jon. Jonathan was a good friend. But a friend was always all he really was, deep down. I loved him at the start, but somehow, I always had something inside of me….some kind of warning, I suppose, that said it wasn't meant to be. I tried my best to ignore it, but in the end it won me over.

And now I'm marrying George! _Hadn't he been the first to vow love to her? Hadn't he still had some kind of faith in her, even when he knew she was having affairs with Jon and Liam? Hadn't he indeed been true to his word, and waited to the day until she was ready to wed?_

_ _

_George had been her friend, her teacher, her lover. And now, she was ready. She was ready to become what she should have been years ago…..a wife. _

_ _

A trail of words entered Alanna's mind just in time, reminding her that she had been recollecting long enough. "I do," she whispered.

The priest's words dissolved completely, as did the rest of the chapel. It was only George, and Alanna, as they melted into each other and kissed….sealing their love forevermore.

**A/N: Yeah, I know…1/2 of this is not mine. It belongs to Tamora Pierce, and I will admit it, so DON'T SUE ME!! I'm a HUGE A/G fan, as you've probably noticed. R/R!**


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